Are You An Expert At What You Do?

One of the most common refrains I hear from people is, "I cant create information productsIm not an expert!" Yet what is expertise? Many organizations have tried to pin down the exact criteria that make an expert. They talk about university degrees earned and awards won and how much youre quoted in the newspaper. But I think theres a much simpler way to look at it. Can you teach another person something they didnt know? Is that something of value to the person? Thats the only form of expertise you need to be worried about to create information products that enrich the world. The Road of Knowledge There will always be someone else at least one more person, maybe several more ahead of you on your road to knowledge. They will know more than you do. Dont sweat it. Instead, realize that those people are your teachers and mentors. There are also people behind you on the road to knowledge and you are their teacher and mentor. They can learn from you. You dont have to know every last thing there is to know about a topic to offer them helpful information. Your fifth grade teacher didnt know everything there was to know about mathematics, but he or she was still able to teach you math. Did you ever say to your math teacher, "You know nothing about string theory! How can you teach me long division?" Of course not. The knowledge he or she had was perfectly suited to your needs at the time. There was value in what your teacher could share with you despite the fact that it wasnt the be all and end all of math. In fact, if it had been the be all and end all, the information would have been useless to you. You werent ready for all that. You were ready for long division. Its the same with information products. There are students at different levels of study. For every level, there is a teacher needed. Dont stay quiet, thinking you have nothing to offer because someone else has more. There is room in the world for more than one teacher on any given topic. In fact, there has to be. Who has the time or energy to reach billion people all on their own? If youre going to wait until youre the acknowledged grand poobah and supreme expert in the universe, you will never create an information product. Youll be waiting forever. And all the knowledge you do have will be lost to the world. Who Are You Not To Shine? Do you still question what you have to offer? Perhaps these words from Marianne Williamsons book, A Return To Love, will help. "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure... We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?... Your playing small doesnt serve the world." Remember those words anytime you find yourself thinking, "Who am I to write a book about this?" or "What makes me think I can create a tape set about that?" Your playing small doesnt serve the world! It doesnt help the people behind you on the road. Dont hide. Dont wait. Share what you know.